Neurology:
Alzheimer's Plaques Reversed in Mice by Blocking Cholesterol Pathway
Metabolism:
Cellular Stress Appears to Link Obesity, Diabetes
Structural Biology:
Interdisciplinary Team Yields High-res Clathrin Model
Pathology:
Blood Flow Mechanics Affect Genetics in Vascular Cells
School History:
Book and Forum Recognize Achievement of African Americans at HMS
Medical Education:
Education Reform Aims for Longitudinal Clinical Experience
Muscle Loss Pathways Proliferate
Fine-particle Pollution Linked to Blood Pressure Boost
Human Cell Therapy Center Created at CBR Institute
Lieberman to Head Faculty Affairs
Five Faculty Members Become AAAS Fellows
Ground Broken for New Fenway Housing
Grant Funds HSPH Initiative for Preparedness Against Terrorism
Long-term Care: Averting a National Crisis
Human Cell Therapy Center Created at CBR Institute
A new Center for Human Cell Therapy will be created by the CBR Institute of Biomedical Research using a $12.65 million, five-year National Institutes of Health grant. Located primarily at the CBR, the center, through collaboration with Children's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, will facilitate the clinical development of new cellular therapies to treat damaged and diseased tissues. These new cell-based therapies include working with stem cells to create treatments for degenerative diseases and, eventually, engineering tissues and vital organs to replace or revive failing parts of the body. The center will be directed by Leslie Silberstein (center), senior investigator at the CBR and HMS professor of pathology (pediatrics) at Children's, with codirectors David Scadden (left), HMS professor of medicine at MGH, and Jerome Ritz, HMS professor of medicine at DFCI.
"The mission of the Center for Human Cell Therapy is to provide the scientific, technical, and regulatory resources to enable the first steps in translating new, proof-of-principle discoveries to the clinic," said Silberstein. (Photo by Jorg Meyer)
Lieberman to Head Faculty Affairs
Ellice Lieberman, HMS professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has been appointed dean for faculty affairs, effective Jan. 1, 2005. She succeeds Eleanor Shore, who has served at HMS since 1978.
Lieberman has been a member of the Faculty of Medicine at HMS since 1986. In 1996, she was appointed director of the Center for Perinatal Research at BWH and professor in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at HSPH. Her research focuses on issues related to the management of labor among low-risk women with term pregnancies. She is also an active teacher and mentor to medical students, fellows, and junior faculty.
Lieberman's office will provide direction for the promotions and appointments process and leadership of the professional development efforts for faculty at HMS.
"Ellice Lieberman brings an extraordinary background as an investigator and an educator, along with a keen understanding of issues in faculty development, to her important post in the dean's office," said Raphael Dolin, dean for academic and clinical programs. "We look forward to the leadership she will provide to address the many activities for which the Office of Faculty Affairs is responsible." (Photo by Richard Chase)
Five Faculty Members Become AAAS Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has named 308 new fellows, five of whom are HMS faculty members. New fellows will be welcomed into the AAAS at the annual meeting this February in Washington, D.C.
Appointed to the section on medical sciences were
Wayne Lencer, HMS associate professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston, for fundamental studies on the cellular mechanisms of membrane transport and retro-translocation coopted by the bacterial AB5 enterotoxins that enter host cells and cause disease;
Stephen Calderwood, HMS professor of medicine (microbiology and molecular genetics) at Massachusetts General Hospital, for fundamental and translational investigation of the mechanics of enteric pathogenesis, particularly in the interactions of the pathogen Vibrio cholerae with the human host;
Ruth Ruprecht, HMS professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, for fundamental studies of lentiviral pathogenesis and distinguished contributions to AIDS vaccine development and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV; and
Bruce Walker, a Howard Hughes investigator and HMS professor of medicine at MGH, for contributions to the study and treatment of HIV/AIDS resulting in the first identification of a strong cellular immune response to HIV in infected persons.
Named to the neuroscience section was
Joseph Coyle, the Eben S. Draper professor of psychiatry at HMS and McLean Hospital, for distinguished contributions to research, scholarship, and mentoring on the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric disorders and for outstanding leadership in university and professional societies.
Ground Broken for New Fenway Housing
On Oct. 14, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Trilogy, a mixed-use building project between Boylston Street and Brookline Avenue, across from the Landmark Center, that will include housing earmarked for HMS. Upon completion of the construction, Harvard University will purchase 170 of the 576 residential units to rent to students, faculty, and professionals who study or work in the Longwood Medical Area. The $200 million, 651,000-square-foot development is expected to anchor the revitalization of the Boylston Street corridor in the Fenway and will include 42,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants, as well as underground parking. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Fenway Development team to secure housing opportunities for our medical students, graduate students, research fellows, and faculty," said Eric Buehrens, executive dean for administration at HMS. Trilogy replaces a surface parking lot and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2006. (Image courtesy of Denterlein Worldwide)
Grant Funds HSPH Initiative for Preparedness Against Terrorism
HSPH has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI). HSPH shares the grant with the Kennedy School of Government and will develop a program for senior government officials to ensure that they are equipped to meet the challenge of mass-casualty terrorist attacks. The NPLI initiative includes expanding connectivity across governmental agencies and assembling a web of people, organizations, resources, and information that can catch, contain, and control a terrorist attack or other emergency facing the country.David Gergen, professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School, and Leonard Marcus, lecturer on public health practice in the Department of Health Policy and Management at HSPH, will serve as codirectors.
"For those in government leadership positions responsible for securing and preparing the country, the challenge is twofold," said Marcus, also the founding director of the Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at HSPH. "First, how to encourage an appropriate level of vigilance and preparedness given the vague nature of terrorist threats, and second, how to manage a crisis when it occurs. These are among the new and critical leadership issues that will be addressed in the NPLI curriculum."
Inaugural training programs for federal, state, and local government officials were scheduled for Oct. 24 to 29 at Harvard.